Are you a good leader?

Updated on October 30, 2011

There are born leaders and there are those who have leadership entrusted upon them due to one circumstance or another but one remarkable thing about leaders is that the leadership qualities which they possess. These qualities make it possible for people to easily suggest that they should always lead everywhere you find them.

We all have the capacity to lead; the only problem is that many people will rather prefer to shy away from the preconceived heavy burden of leadership which stems from the feeling of the great responsibility and accountability that leadership normally calls for.

Mind you, such people are not necessarily withdrawing because they hate the position. It’s just that they are confused and afraid. In fact, I am yet to see that somebody who does not [secretly] want to lead or be the head at some point in time.

But in truth, leadership qualities can be learned. It all depends observing and taking lessons and willingness to do all those simple things that makes all the difference – things that separate leaders from followers.

This is how to know a leader, a good and effective leader actually…

Charisma

Charisma is that one very important quality that shows that one is capable of leading. It can be seen as that compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion from followers because they have taken the time and pains to master the art of making other people feel important or special about themselves.

People who are charismatic can easily become leaders simple because people trust them, believe them, and love them in a very strange but inexplicable ways thus endearing to themselves that wonderful feeling of irreplaceable in the “eyes” of those devoted followers.

Charismatic leaders are always such a beauty to behold almost like an enigma. I know that one of the qualities that helped Barack Obama in 2008 was the charisma and confidence which he exuded back then.

So if can work on your charisma and make your charms work for you, you might just discover that your charisma will start working for you in your quest to become the head.

Visionary

Leaders are known to be quite visionary. This is because leaders often times are great dreamers deeply embroiled in great imaginations. This is what gives them that supernatural status because of their seeming ability to see tomorrow.

Actually not all such dreams are exactly positive all the time but they can paint the picture of the future so vividly in your mind and you will have no other option than to fall into that induced trance and start dreaming and visualizing with him.

It is also this quality that makes it very possible for them to convince you to believe in it even though you may not fully comprehend what they are saying at that particular but then you are already in a trance…

Your visions as a leader must be clear, simple, and organized. Nobody likes or is overly inclined to follow complex and disorganized strategies.

Leaders know how to differentiate between authority and passion

Leaders know how to avoid the mistake of confusing passion with authority. They know that one way for passionate leaders to loose their followers is by that failure to demonstrate their authority when necessary.Overly passionate leaders are believable but few people want to follow them.

Generally, people tend to prefer their leaders to have some measure of steel in them. That is to say, people want leaders who have some sort of iron hand (or fist) in a velvet glove but who won’t rule them with that very iron fist which translates to leaders who are firm or ruthlessness cloaked in outward gentleness.

So as a leader, you are supposed to be able to distinguish that very authority and passion in your dealings with your subjects. He knows how to apply that gentle force that will make establish his authority without begging it.

He understands the mechanics of leadership by knowing when it is best to ask for input from the people and when it is best to dictate.

He knows that he should never yell or publicly chastise anybody. He knows that doing this will actually cause him to lose his respect. He acts like an all-knowing Father who is always more than ready to forgive his flock when they stray.

Trust and Humility

People always want their leaders to be someone they can trust because being trustworthy is a very strong virtue. If leaders are very trustworthy, they can easily win the support of their subjects or followers.

One important way in which good leaders can easily win the trust and support of the people is through their identification with them.

A good leader knows that things will always work against him if he starts emphasizing the difference between him and his people by trying to set himself apart from the crowd by erecting a wall between him and the people he leads. This is usually because these people will most likely create their own barriers between their leader and themselves. A strong ego creates a barrier between the leader and the people so it is always better for any good leader to know when and how to downplay his ego.

People love it when they know that as a leader, you have the ability and right to do as such because you hold all the cards and yet you don’t play that card. It makes them to recognize that very one of the most powerful character traits for effective leadership by any leader which is – humility!

4 comments

Yesh, Lovely hub, I have to say that I've studied leadership for a very long time. At one point I was fearful of it, but understand there is no escaping it for my purpose in life. I have since than passed the fears, but also know being a leader you never stop learning, and you never arrive even when you think you have arrived.

Emmyboy 5 years ago from Nigeria Author

Good luck to you, HattieMM. Thanks for stopping by.

HattieMattieMae 5 years ago from Limburg, Netherlands

Thank you! You just reminded me of details I need to keep in mind! I wish you the best as well! :)

gmwilliams 5 years ago from the Greatest City In The World-New York City, New York

This is an excellent hub. However, only a minute few are great and capable leaders. Many people do not have the maturity required to be leaders. They believe that being a leader means being bossy and pushing people around i.e. the philosophy that might=right. This paradigm of leadership is becoming more outmoded in the 21st century. Today's and tomorrow's leaders lends towards the democratic more than anything else. In other words, this new type of leader is more of a participator and less authoritarian.